Shubman Gill captain, Rishabh Pant vice-captain for England tour

Shubman Gill has been appointed India's 37th Test captain, with the BCCI confirming the decision during the senior selection committee meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, May 24. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia met at the board headquarters to pick an 18-man squad for the 5-Test series against England, starting June 20 at Headingley.

Rishabh Pant was named as Shubman Gill's deputy for the England tour. The likes of Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh were handed maiden call-ups in Test cricket. In a big call, Mohammed Shami was not picked due to fitness issues while Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj made it to the 18. India A captain, Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has been travelling with the squad, gets another opportunity.

Gill takes over from Rohit Sharma, who stepped away from Test cricket in May. Gill has been picked ahead of Jasprit Bumrah, who had already captained India in three Tests, including two matches in the absence of Rohit in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

At 25, Gill has become one of the youngest players to hold the position in recent years. Though he lacks captaincy experience in the red-ball format, he has led India in a five-match T20I assignment in Zimbabwe in 2024. Gill has also been captaining Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.

With Shubman Gill taking charge and leading a relatively young squad in the wake of retirements from senior figures like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, hopefully he can guide India into a new phase marked by consistency and success.